I have a laserpecker 2 machine.
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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
Nova Nebula. With bed extension.
Not on the lathe yet but 5 layers of 3" squares glued up to 6X6 per layer to use for making lids or what ever else I can think of. The hope is that this configuration will be more stable than pie shaped segmented layers.
Happy Friday, All! I haven't posted in this thread for awhile because I have been crazy busy turning stock for my 1st full-time show season (which definitely falls under being careful what you wish for, but I love it!). Anyway, I lucked into some gorgeous black walnut after Hurricane Helene when it seemed every huge tree in our whole region fell. I green-turned some really nice live-edge bowls for a few customers who of course all wanted them before Christmas, then after flooding the bark with thin CA, sealed them up with a few coats of basic Zinssers shellac to slow the drying (which has worked well for me on a lot of different green-turned woods). I figured I could do it if I turned them thin enough to actually dry, maybe.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I finished the outside of the 1st one a few days ago. I have turned lots of black walnut, but rarely with this much sap-wood. Anyway, as I was sanding the exterior starting at 120 (having stabilized a few cracks with coffee and CA), I was getting some serious blotchiness in the sap-wood, presumably from the tannins in the heart wood or bark getting into end-grain (but also a good bit into the side grain). I would sand it out mostly, then blow it out, then wipe down with MS and there it was again like it had been hiding. I finally managed to eliminate most of it, then sanded to 400, smoothed it with a Scotchbrite pad, and started rubbing in some thin coats of Tru-Oil (which finishes like it was made for walnut IME). As you can see in the pics, there is still some staining, but it mostly blended in, sort of.
Even though the curve, grain balance, etc. are all fine, the real trouble is inside. I again started at 120 with an angle-drill and 2-inch disks, and started getting even more of the blotchy stains. I tried everything I could think of: sanding with various solvents, dropping down to 80 grit and really trying to even it out, but nothing worked-it just got more blotchy, with some glaring near-white spots. This is the interior after more or less giving up and sanding to 150, but I can't in good conscience sell this to a favorite customer who is hoping to take it home tomorrow. At this point I'm not sure exactly what to do with it. I know some of you turn live edge walnut successfully without all of this mess. Please help me solve this dilemma, as I have several more blanks drying, and eager customers waiting for me to not screw up their bowls.
Thanks in advance for any insights. If asking for all this technical help is not appropriate for this thread, I can make into a separate post.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I finished the outside of the 1st one a few days ago. I have turned lots of black walnut, but rarely with this much sap-wood. Anyway, as I was sanding the exterior starting at 120 (having stabilized a few cracks with coffee and CA), I was getting some serious blotchiness in the sap-wood, presumably from the tannins in the heart wood or bark getting into end-grain (but also a good bit into the side grain). I would sand it out mostly, then blow it out, then wipe down with MS and there it was again like it had been hiding. I finally managed to eliminate most of it, then sanded to 400, smoothed it with a Scotchbrite pad, and started rubbing in some thin coats of Tru-Oil (which finishes like it was made for walnut IME). As you can see in the pics, there is still some staining, but it mostly blended in, sort of.
Even though the curve, grain balance, etc. are all fine, the real trouble is inside. I again started at 120 with an angle-drill and 2-inch disks, and started getting even more of the blotchy stains. I tried everything I could think of: sanding with various solvents, dropping down to 80 grit and really trying to even it out, but nothing worked-it just got more blotchy, with some glaring near-white spots. This is the interior after more or less giving up and sanding to 150, but I can't in good conscience sell this to a favorite customer who is hoping to take it home tomorrow. At this point I'm not sure exactly what to do with it. I know some of you turn live edge walnut successfully without all of this mess. Please help me solve this dilemma, as I have several more blanks drying, and eager customers waiting for me to not screw up their bowls.
Thanks in advance for any insights. If asking for all this technical help is not appropriate for this thread, I can make into a separate post.
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- www.reallyruralwoodworks.com
Looks about par for the course with black walnut, especially if it's still relatively green. Also if the tree grew in an area of high iron content I'd not be surprised at all... once the iron + Tannins + Air meet up, it does tend to darken.
Like you we had a lot of trees come down during the storm and currently have a large black walnut to start green turning. I also have 4 walnuts, 2 pecan, and 2 maples to get over the next few weeks. I’m also getting ready for a 3 day show in a couple weeks so packing and pricing will start next week.
With black walnut I had the same issues with bleeding into the sap wood and some is just natural and you can’t sand it out. However one thing that has helped tremendously is I sand the bark edge first then the rest of the bowl with out touching the bark if possible. Once I geo through the lower grits I will sand the sap wood with the higher grits to remove any staining from the heart wood or bark. I then sand the heart wood and sap wood but will hit nothing but the sap wood one the final passes. I also blow the piece off after every grit.
Thanks, David-Having seen your live edge walnut work, I was hoping you would chime in. And in my gut I sort of knew that on the next one, I need to do exactly as you suggest: sand the bark 1st, then stay away from it if possible. It sands straight into a fine flour that I know gets into walnut's open grain structure.
And Brian, I am pretty sure our local red-clay soils are high in iron. After all, it's the iron oxide that turns it that reddish color if I remember my college geology elective right.
Finally, part of me wonders if a sanding sealer might help, but maybe not on that open grain? I have a tin of Myland's cellulose sealer that I rarely use. You folks who use it a lot, do you think its' worth a try? I don't know. Anyway, thanks for the tips! Aaron
And Brian, I am pretty sure our local red-clay soils are high in iron. After all, it's the iron oxide that turns it that reddish color if I remember my college geology elective right.
Finally, part of me wonders if a sanding sealer might help, but maybe not on that open grain? I have a tin of Myland's cellulose sealer that I rarely use. You folks who use it a lot, do you think its' worth a try? I don't know. Anyway, thanks for the tips! Aaron
The key I think is to turn only live trees that have not had a chance to dry much.To prevent the darkening of the sap wood turn it thinner then you have done so that it will dry faster, the bark will not come loose and the sapwood stays lighter. The sanding is held off until the wood is dried and thoroughly dead and it then becomes a natural edge bowl.
Notice on this bowl the darker area on the upper left indicates the wood beginning to dry before it was turned.
Fighting Mother Nature is a loosing battle as I have found out 
.
Determent to keep some Black Walnut sapwood white, I did get kind of close, and this is the outcome, note that I kept only the sapwood without the heartwood but for a very small area.
As I had figured out that the color of the heartwood was leaching into the sapwood and changing it to a darker wood, so I turned this thin and dried the wood as quick as I dared without it splitting, and not giving the wet wood the time to leach into the sapwood.
Here is the outcome and even that did darken a bit over (after 18 years) time, not nice white but a more light colored wood.
However I find that leaving the sapwood and let it change color gives nice outcome, IMO.
Have a look in what it changes to, here is a dry rough turned bowl, oh, and BTW with or without the bark left on makes no difference in the color change.
Here are two Black Walnut bowls that are finished.
So in my opinion the wood gets nicer as it matures, just give it time
.Determent to keep some Black Walnut sapwood white, I did get kind of close, and this is the outcome, note that I kept only the sapwood without the heartwood but for a very small area.
As I had figured out that the color of the heartwood was leaching into the sapwood and changing it to a darker wood, so I turned this thin and dried the wood as quick as I dared without it splitting, and not giving the wet wood the time to leach into the sapwood.
Here is the outcome and even that did darken a bit over (after 18 years) time, not nice white but a more light colored wood.
However I find that leaving the sapwood and let it change color gives nice outcome, IMO
.Have a look in what it changes to, here is a dry rough turned bowl, oh, and BTW with or without the bark left on makes no difference in the color change.
Here are two Black Walnut bowls that are finished.
So in my opinion the wood gets nicer as it matures, just give it time
This is one I just finished and has the first coat of walnut oil on it. I usually sand while green to get tool marks out and go to maybe 180. Once it is dry I sand again starting with 180, 320, and sometimes 400 grit. You can still see some discoloration in the sap wood but I was able to keep most of it out.
Very nice outcome David